


Just One Dance...

by firelordhresvelg



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Edeleth, F/F, Ferdie gets a mention in the tags bc ofc he gets involved, that's it really, they just want to dance together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:42:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28033350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firelordhresvelg/pseuds/firelordhresvelg
Summary: It's the night of the grand ball at Garreg Mach.Edelgard wants to dance with Byleth. Byleth wants to dance with Edelgard. If only they both knew, and if only it were that easy.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg & My Unit | Byleth, Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Kudos: 28





	Just One Dance...

The idea of a grand ball didn’t exactly appeal to Byleth, and so she was content standing on the sidelines and watching other dancers move to the gentle melody rather than partaking herself. Two of the house leaders had been amongst the first to take to the open floor: Dimitri had taken the hand of young redhead, and Edelgard that of a tall brunette — and amongst the other eager pairs, they moved gracefully to the music.

A smile crossed Edelgard’s lips at one point, and in turn, Byleth felt herself smile at the sight. The Professor had no intention of staying for the full duration of the ball, and was perfectly happy being a bystander for the time that she did stay; though perhaps she could steal one dance with the house leader…

Feeling like she was being watched, Byleth turned to see Claude looking her way, and apparently pleased that he’d gotten her attention the young man grinned and strode towards her. With a wink, he took her hand and led them into the midst of the other swaying couples. Byleth offered no resistance — after all, it was probably best for her to practice her dancing if she intended on taking Edelgard’s hand. Besides, what harm would one dance do?

Once Byleth was on the floor, however, it was impossible for her to leave. Immediately after her dance with Claude, she had turned to see where Edelgard had ended up — only to be faced with another student eager to take her hand in a dance. There was a slight pang in her gut when, during her second dance, she saw the house leader still with the same young brunette. Young _and_ handsome brunette… Byleth’s brow furrowed at the thought.

Across the hall, it hadn’t escaped Edelgard’s notice that her Professor had taken to dancing, though to see her pick up another partner so easily after her dance with Claude was…was…what was it? The house leader couldn’t figure out what it was, but it bugged her. Why was it bugging her? Byleth was dancing. That was a good thing. The Professor was enjoying the evening. 

Yet when she finished her own dance and turned to see her Professor with another partner, Edelgard felt her brow pull into a frown. A part of her had hoped to dance with Byleth herself — but the Professor seemed to have an endless stream of willing partners. The moment she ended a dance with one student, another was quick to take their place. Edelgard had never even pegged the Professor as a keen dancer, though she was certainly doing well to keep up.

What Edelgard didn’t see was Byleth attempting to catch her gaze at every opportunity — of course, the Professor had to offer _some_ attention to the kind and eager students who wished to dance with her, but by the Goddess it quickly grew tiresome. There was no time for her to breathe between them offering her their hands! When her gaze finally did find the Black Eagles’ house leader again, another pang struck her to see that Edelgard had found another dance partner of her own.

Edelgard had accepted the unexpected offer from the young man — though she couldn’t quite understand why, other than to pass the time until the Professor stood alone again. Yet there was a twisting in her stomach every time she thought Byleth had saw her dancing with her new partner, only to look up and see the Professor looking anywhere but in her direction. 

_Why does it matter?_ Edelgard questioned herself.

_It doesn’t._ Or so she kept telling herself. Yet her heart seemed to skip a beat when the opportune moment presented itself: she parted with her current dance partner, and saw Byleth do the same and turn — and for a moment, their eyes met, and Edelgard strode across the floor.

Byleth let out a tired sigh when her most recent dance ended, though any sense of exhaustion left her when she turned to see the house leader looking in her direction. A light smile crept across her lips, and she started to walk towards Edelgard, trying to get her words in order in her head and on her tongue, ready to ask the house leader for a dance.

“Professor!”

Byleth stopped, startled, as Ferdinand stepped directly in front of her, a wide grin on his features. “You have certainly been popular this evening! I wonder if I may have the pleasure of your next dance?”

“Actually, Ferdinand—”

The noble’s sudden appearance had stopped Edelgard in her tracks, and she could only watch as Ferdinand offered his hand in a confident manner that only he could manage. What could only be described as a huff escaped the house leader’s lips, and she turned away — politely excusing herself as another student asked for her hand. She didn’t even know where she was going as she walked across the hall, but she couldn’t stay there any longer.

Byleth had glanced over Ferdinand’s shoulder just in time to see their house leader stride away, and her mood deflated. She looked back to the young noble offering his hand, so eager, so oblivious, and knew it wouldn’t make a difference anymore anyway. Offering a weak smile, she took his hand. “The pleasure would be mine.”

Ferdinand had seemed rather dejected when their dance ended so soon after it began, though Byleth was too tired to notice as she excused herself from his company and from everyone else who approached her in the course of her exit from the hall. On her way, she had scanned the floor for any sign of Edelgard, yet the house leader was nowhere to be seen. 

She let out a long, tired sigh.

Feeling sufficiently dejected, the Professor headed outside, hoping the cool evening air would clear her mind — though little did she know that Sothis was in the mood for a chat.


End file.
